Please enable JavaScript.
Coggle requires JavaScript to display documents.
Changing definitions of crime. Crime + Punishment Paper - Coggle Diagram
Changing definitions of crime. Crime + Punishment Paper
HERESY + TREASON
Mary I (r. 1553 - 53)
Mary was determined to make England a Catholic country once more
Mary ordered the burning of nearly 300 Protestants for Heresy
They were given the choice to 'turn or burn' but refused to change there beliefs
Elizabeth I (r. 1558 - 1603)
Elizabeth was a Protestant. At first some compromises were made towards the Catholics but England remained firmly Protestant
Catholics were fined for not attending church + could be locked up for taking part in Catholic services
However, these laws weren't strictly enforced.
After various plots to kill her, + replace her with a Catholic Monarch, around 250 Catholics were executed for treason
Edward VI (r. 1547 - 53)
Edward further widened the split with the Catholic church.
Edward made laws requiring the people to worship in a much more Protestant way
James I (r. 1603 - 25)
Most Catholics had little choice but to accept the changes
When James I came to the throne, Catholics had hoped that they would be able to worship freely, however the laws against Catholics were tightened + more harshly enforced
Henry VIII (r. 1509 - 47)
Those refusing to accept the split with the Catholic church were executed
Henry used Protestant ideas to justify his divorce, but in his heart, was still a Catholic.
In 1534, After the Pope refused to approve his divorce, Henry VIII split with the Catholic church + made himself Head of the Church Of England
WITCHCRAFT: REASONS FOR THE RISE IN ACCUSATIONS
THE GOVERNMENT
However under Henry VIII, Elizabeth + James I the laws were tightened
Witchcraft became a serious criminal offence, punishable by death
During the Middle ages, witchcraft was dealt with by more lenient Church courts
The Civil War in 1642 - 1649 led to a breakdown in the rule of law
The fighting meant that royal judges were less able to travel + so superstitious locals often took cases into there own hands
THE CHURCH
Protestants preached that the Devil was tempting good Christians away from God.
Superstitious talk of the Devil made people fearful + more likely to look to believe in harmful magic
SOCIAL ATTITUDES
Some villages felt threatened by such demands
Most people believed that harmful magic could injure or even kill others
In times of poverty, the poor asked there neighbours for help more often
Therefore, poor vulnerable women, usually elderly, were sometimes blamed if illness or accident struck
SCIENCE + TECHNOLOGY
Cheap, printed pamphlets often dealt with dramatic cases of Witchcraft.
These were widely read + kept the idea of harmful magic firmly in the public imagination